Can holder



March 8, 1966 E. H. BACHMANN 3,239,180

CAN HOLDER Filed Oct. 9, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 8, 1966 E. H. BACHMANN CAN HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9, 1965 FIG. 2

United States Patent 3,239,180 CAN HOLDER Erik Holm Bachmann, 2265 Mountain Side Drive, Burlington, Ontario, Canada Filed Oct. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 314,897 1 Claim. (Cl. 248-210) This invention relates to an improvement in paint can holders and deals particularly with a device for holding a can of paint or other material in a desired position upon a ladder.

Various types of devices have been provided for supporting a paint can upon a ladder. It has long been recognized that difficulty exists in painting while standing upon a ladder due to the fact that the paint can, when suspended from a ladder, is not readily accessible. The previous devices have been usually cumbersome and complicated and also costly to produce. As a result not many paint can supports are on the market at the present time in spite of the numerous devices which have been patented.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for supporting a paint can to one side of a ladder where it is readily accessible for use. By supporting the can in this manner much time and effort is saved, resulting in decreased cost, as well as increased convenience.

It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a paint can holder which is extremely simple in form, and which can be produced at low cost.

According to the present invention there is provided a paint can holder adapted to engage a rung and a leg of a ladder to support itself and a paint can carried by the holder on the ladder, the holder being formed as a completely integral unit from metal rod material and comprising, a ring member adapted to encircle the paint can, a can-engaging member connected to the ring member and extending downwardly therefrom to provide a cross-bar member which is disposed generally diametrically with respect to the ring member, which is supported at both its ends from the ring member which is spaced from the ring member and which is adapted to engage beneath the bottom of the paint can to support it in predetermined position with respect to the ring member while the can is encircled by the ring member, and a ladderengaging member comprising an arm extending generally radially of and in substantially the same plane as the ring member and adapted to engage the front face of the ladder leg on which the holder is mounted, and a generally U-shaped hook disposed in a plane generally perpendicular to the said arm, joined at one end to the arm, having one of the legs of the U adapted to pass above the said rung.

A paint can holder which is a specific embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the paint can holder itself, and

FIGURE 2 is another perspective view showing a part of a ladder and a ring thereof, and illustrating the way in which the holder is supported by the ladder and in turn supports the can.

Referring now to the drawings, the paint can holder in accordance with the invention and illustrated thereby will be seen to comprise a completely singular or unitary Patented Mar. 8, 1966 structure formed from metal rod bent to the required shape. The device is intended to support a can 1 of paint from the rung 2 and leg 3 of a step ladder and comprises three main parts, namely, a ring member 4, a can-engaging member 5 and a ladder-engaging member 6.

The ring member is initially a separate element formed by bending a length of metal rod into a circle and welding its ends together, the diameter of the ring being such that it loosely embraces or encircles a paint can of the size normally employed by painters, usually a can of one gallon capacity. The can-engaging member comprises two arms 7 and 8 and a connecting cross-bar 9 formed from a single piece of metal rod, the two arms having respective portions 7a and 8a which are extended away from the centre of the ring, and respective portions 7b and 8b which return towards the center of the ring so that the cross-bar 9 is disposed generally diametrically with respect to the ring member. The arms 7 and 8 can of course be straight, but the arrangement illustrated has the advantage of providing a better balanced device. The crossbar is adapted to engage beneath the bottom of a can encircled by the ring member, and is spaced vertically from the ring member the distance required to support the can in predetermined position with respect to the ring member, and so that the support is completely stable when holding a full can of paint and mounted in operative position on the ladder. The can-engaging member is connected to the ring member by having the free ends of its portions 7a and 8a welded thereto.

The ladder-engaging member will be seen to comprise an arm 10, which extends generally radially of the ring member in substantially the same plane as the ring mem her, and a generally U-shaped hook disposed in a plane generally perpendicular to the said arm. The hook has the leg 11 which is joined to the arm 10 adapted to pass closely beneath the rung 2, while the other leg 12 is adapted to pass closely above the rung, although in other embodiments the reverse may be the case. In this embodiment the hook is formed as an integral extension of the piece of metal rod from which the can-engaging member was formed, ie both parts are bent from the same piece of rod, but in other embodiments they may be formed as separate parts and fastened integrally together, as by welding.

In operation the hook is first engaged around the rung and then the support is permitted to rotate until the arm 10 engages the front face of the ladder leg, whereupon the support is securely mounted on the ladder and is able to in turn support securely a can of paint encircled by the ring member and resting on the cross-bar 9.

What I claim is:

A paint can holder adapted to engage a rung and a leg of a ladder to support itself and a paint can carried by the holder on the ladder, the holder being formed as a completely integral unit from metal rod material and comprising, a ring member adapted to encircle the paint can, a can-engaging member connected to the ring member and extending downwardly therefrom to provide a crossbar member which is disposed generally diametrically with respect to the ring member, which is supported at both its ends from the ring member, which is spaced from the ring member and which is adapted to engage beneath the bottom of the paint can to support it in predetermined position with respect to the ring member while the can is encircled by the ring member, and a ladder-engaging member comprising an arm extending generally radially of and in substantially the same plane as the ring member and adapted to engage the front face of the ladder leg on which the holder is mounted, and a generally U-shaped hook disposed in a plane generally perpendicular to the said arm, joined at one end to the arm, having one of the legs of the U adapted to pass closely beneath the said ladder rung, and having the other leg of the U adapted to pass closely above the said rung.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1950 Heinrich 248210 5/1956 Lachenmayer 24821Q 10 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner, 

